Exposition of the Whole Bible

into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruits.

The north-wind being awakened, and the southwind having blown u])on Christ's garden, the church, according to his order, the spices did flow out, her graces were stirred up, and begin now to exercise themselves: which causes her, before he had well done speaking, and made a stop, to break forth in these words, and earnestly desire his presence and company in his garden; so that in this one verse we have both Christ and his church speaking. la these words are to be considered,

I. A title or character she gives him; " my beloved."

II. A request or invitation she makes him; to " come into his garden."

III. Her end in it; to " eat his pleasant fruits."

I. Here is a title or character which she gives Lim, "my beloved;" which, as it comes from her mouth, is expressive, 1. Of her love to him, he was the object of her love, him whom her soul loved; and indeed how could she do otherwise than love so lovely a person, one who loved her so dearly, and had given such undeniable demonstrations of it? love, we usually say, begets love; and no wonder that Christ's love should beget love in her, when we consider his person, the nature of his love, and how undeserving she was of it. 2. Of her faith as to her interest in him, she could point him out, and distinguish him from all others, and had strength of faith enough to claim him as hers; faith and love go together, they are twins; they were born together in a regenerate soul, and grow up together; when one is in exercise, usually the other is also; for " faith works by love." 3. She makes use of this title as an argument to obtain her request, or make her invitations the more forcible: she who in this manner earnestly desires that he would come into his garden, was one who dearly loved him, stood nearly related to him, and had an interest both in his person and affections: arguments taken by the saints from their union and relation to Christ, and their interest in him, have very great influence upon him, and are not disregarded by him: David knew this, and therefore uses this way of speaking

II. Here is a request made, or an invitation given, by the church to Christ, to " come into his garden." By the garden is meant the church; and why it is so called, has been shown on v. 12; and in what sense it is Christ's, and how he came to have a right to if, and property in it, has been observed in the former part of this verse, where Christ claims it, and the church here owns it; he calls to the south-wind, and says, " blow upon ray garden;" she here says, " let ray beloved come into his garden:" believers are willing to acknowledge that all they have, or are, belong to Christ; that they are not their own, 'but " are bought with a price;" and therefore all they have and are, are for his use, and at his service; which they openly declare, and would have others take notice of, and therefore say, Psalm c. 3, " Know ye, that the Lord he is God; it is he that hath made us, and not vve ourselves;" that is, who hath remade us; we are new creatures in Christ, and are his workmanship, and not our our own; " we are his people," in a way of special and covenant-grace; " and the sheep of his pasture," whom he has taken the care and charge of, as the Great Shepherd; has laid down his life for, and feeds and leads into good pasture.

The next thing to be taken notice of, is, what is meant by Christ's " coming into his garden." There is a threefold coming of Christ mentioned in the scripture.

1st. His coming in the flesh. This was what the Old-Testament-saints earnestly desired, prayed, and longed for: it was not only the wish of David, but of the whole church; he spoke the language of all their hearts, when he said. Psalm xiv. 7, " O that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion!" This being long promised, and long expected, the faith of the saints sometimes grew weak and languid concerning it; therefore the promises w^hich respected it, were frequently renewed and repeated, and the prophets bidden to say, Isa. XXXV. 4, to them that were of a fearful heart, " Fear not, be strong, your God will come and save you;" and when they by faith saw the time near at hand, and him approaching, they were filled with joy and exultation; hence it is said, " Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! behold thy king Cometh unto thee," &c., Zech. ix. 9; but this, I apprehend, is not intended in these words of the church.

2ndly. There is his coming at the last day to judge the world, which is usually called his second coming; which is what the apostle intends, when he says, Heb. ix. 28, " Unto them that look for him, shall he appear the second time, without sin unto salvation." The first time of his appearing in the flesh, though it was without sin of his own, yet not without the sins of his people; which were imputed to him, charged upon liira, and he answered for them; but when he appears tlie second time, it shall be without them, they being alreaJy expiated and atoued for. He came the iiist liiue to obtain salvation for sinners, and will come the second time to put them into the full possession of it; and as the first comiug of Christ was desired by the Old-Testament-saiuts; so this is desired by the New-Testament-saints; who, upon Christ's saying, " Surely I come quickly," answer, " Amen, even so come, Lord Jesus:" it will fill the saints with wonder and joy; for he, when he comes, will be both glorified in them, and admired by them, though il will strike the wicked with dread and terror, and fill them with the utmost conslernaliou; for his coming will be " in flaming fire, to take vengeance" on them. But neither is this, I think, the coming intended here. But,

3rd]y. There is a spiritual coming of Christ; which is, when he comes and pays a visit, grants his presence, manifests his love, discloses the secrets of his heart unto his people, which was what he promised his sorrov\ing disciples, when he was about to remove from them, and they were no longer to enjoy his bodily presence; says he, John xiv. 18, "I will not leave you comfortless, op<pavovs, orphans or fathei'less, I will come to you;" which promise Christ made good unto them, as lie does to all his people at one time or another; for, says he, John xiv. 23, " If any man love me, he will keep my words; and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him:" that is. Father, Son, and Spirit, " and make our abode with him;" which is what the church desires here, that Christ would grant her his spiritual, gracious, and comfortable presence, and tliat she might have more intimate communion with him. From whence we may observe, J. That Christ is sometimes absent from his church and people; He does not always mauifest himself unto them; he sometimes hides his face, withdraws his preseuce, and seems to stand at a distance from them, he is sometimes Beus abscondiius, the hidden God; he was so to the Jews in the days of his flesh, and he is so sometimes to his own flesh; for "he hidelh his face from the house of Jacob;" his o\s'u church and people, for whom he has the greatest love and regard: not that Christ is ever really and wholly absent from his church; he is always iu his garden; he has promised to be always with his people and ministers unto the end of the world, and his faithfulness stands engaged to make it good; but he does not always alike manifest himself unto them; they have not always alike views of his person, discoveries of his love, and enjoyments of his preseuce; which sometimes makes them say, with Job, "O that I were as in months past!" &c.; nay, sometimes in their apprehensions he is entirely gone, which is the church's case, iu chap. v. 9; and such is their infirmity, and the strength of unbelief in them, that they are ready to say. He is gone, and will never return more; and therefore, as David did, read all that in the affirmative, which you will find in Psalm Ixxvii. 7—9; though I do not think this to be the case of the church here; she seems not to be without the manifestation of Christ's love, and enjoyments of his presence, being in such a fruitful state, the south-wind having blown upon her, her grace appearing to be in exercise, and she in a comfortable frame; though she wanted more nearness to him, more intimate communion and fellowship with him: believers never think themselves near enough to Christ, nor never will, till they are with him in glory: the highest enjoyment of Christ here below, though exceeding ravishing and delightful, falls short of giving lull satisfaction; for still the soul desires more and greater: the apostle Paul, who had as mucli communion and fellowship with Christ, as perhaps ever any man had on earth; and yet, when he had in view that eternal being with Christ hereafter, speaks as if he had never been with him here; all his communion with him here was nothing, when compared with that which he expected iu another world, and therefore he had "a desire to depart, that he might be with Christ." 2. From hence may be observed, that Christ's presence is exceeding desirable to believers; this is the one thing they seek aflei, and cannot be easy without; which when enjoyed, gives them the utmost pleasure, and fills them with ineipressible joy: and tiie reason why Christ's company and preseuce is so desirable to them, is because he is nearly related to them; he is their beloveJ, their Head and Husband; they are " members of his body, his flesh, and of his hones;" he is their " all in all;" and wheu he is iu the garden,'' all they want, and all they desire is there; for there is none in heaven nor in earth with them comparable to him; his coming revives the plants and herbs, and makes them fruitful; it causes the spices to flow,- grace to appear in exercise; it is like " the rain, and as the latter and former rain unto the earth:" also it is doing the saints the greatest houour; they have reason to say, "Whence is this to us, that not " the mother of our Lord," as Elizabeth said to Marv, but our Lord himself, should come to us? and yet this honour have all the saints. Moreover, Christ's coming is always beneficial to believers; he never comes empty-handed; he never pays a visit, but he brings something with him; he never sups with his people, but he is at the charge of the whole entertainment. Again, it is Christ's presence that makes his garden, the church, an Eden of pleasure, a heaven on earth; which makes it a Bethel, and the " gate of heaven:" it is this which makes Christ's tabernacles "amiable and and lovely, his ways, ways of pleasantness, and his paths, paths of peace;" it is this which makes his " yoke easy," and his " burden light," and all his comraandments not to be grievous, but delightfnl; and when all this is considered, it is no wonder that believers are so desirous of Christ's presence and company in his garden. 3. Hence it appears, that Christ's granting his presence with his church, is an act of wonderful grace and condescension; and therefore she asks it as a favour of him; and a surprising instance of his grace it is, that he who is the high and lofty one, should vouchsafe his presence to such vile and unworthy creatures as we be. The Septuagint render it, " let him descend into his garden;"' and, agreeable hereunto in chap. vi. 2, he is said to be " gone down into his garden, intending his wonderful condescension. Solomon, at the dedication of the temple, said, " But will God indeed dwell on the earth?" We have reason to say with Judas, not Tscariot, " Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself to us, and not unto the world?" especially when, with the centurion, we consider, that we are not worthy that he should come under our roof.

III. The end of her making this request or invitation, is, that he might " eat his pleasant fruits;" in which may be considered, 1st. What these fruits are?" 2udly. Whose they are. 3dly. That they are pleasant ones. And 4thly. What is meant by eating them.

1st. What these fruits are. By fruits are meant, either the graces of the Spirit, which are called " the fruit of the Spirit," Gal. v. 23, or else, the duties and services of God's people, their good works, which are performed in the exercise of grace, believers are " trees of righteousness;" and the fruits which they bear are called " fruits of righteousness;" being by grace made good trees, they bring forth good fruit, and are said to be " fruitful in every good work;" now these Christ is here invited to eat. The Tai'gum expounds it of the offerings of the people, which God graciously accepted.

2ndly. Whose fruit is this, is the next inquiry; and they are said to be his, that is, Christ's: the garden is his, and all the fruit of it: only, as one™ well observes, the weeds are hers; every thing else in the garden, that is either for service or pleasure, belongs to him. The graces of the Spirit are his, 1. He is the procurer and possessor of them; he obtained all grace for his church and people in the everlasting covenant; he then asked for it, and it was granted him and given to us in him, on condition of his performing certain articles then agreed upon; so that, as the glorious Mediator of the covenant, he is " full of grace and truth, and from his fulness do saints receive grace for grace;" it is all lodged in his hands, and from thence given forth to us. 2. He is the Author of all grace; he is said to be the Author and Piuisher of faith; and as he is the Author of that, so he is of all other grace; he gives it to us, and by his Spirit works it in us; he is the green fir tree, from whom all our fruit is found, for otherwise \vc have none of ourselves. 3. He is the object of all grace, particularly faith, hope, and love; he is the person in whom we believe, trust, and depend on for life and salvation; on whom our hope of glory is fixed, and to whom our love and affections are drawn; so that tliese fruits may be truly said to be his; also our duties, services, and good works, performed in the exercise of grace, are his; for, (1.) They are performed by virtue of union to him; and therefore the fruits of righteousness are said to be by Jesus Christ; and " as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine," no more can any bear fruit, or perform good works aright, except they are engrafted and abide in Christ; he is the root which bears the branches, and from whence they receive sap and nourishment, which causes them to abound with frait; " the root of the righteous yieldeth fruit," says Solomon, Prov. xii. 12, now the righteous man's root is Christ. (2.) They are done, not in their own strength, but in his; for without him they can do nothing; it is he who works in them, both " to will and to do of his good pleasure;" therefore they ascribe all their works, duties, and services to him: and say, as the apostle did, when he had asserted that he had laboured more abundantly than the rest of the apostles, corrects himself thus, " yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me." (3.) They are designed for his honour and glory, when performed aright; they do not seek themselves, their own carnal interest, nor worldly applause, nor expect to merit any thing by them; but what they do, is in a way of obedience and gratitude to Christ, and that he in all things may be glorified; they are performed in his strength, and designed for his use; and so are properly his; which being considered, destroys that notion which advances the merit of good works.

3rdly. These fruits are said to be pleasant, that is, grateful, well-pleasiug, and acceptable to Christ; so are the graces of the Spirit, especially when in exercise, as appears from ver. 9, 10; and so are the good works of his people, when performed in faith, from a principle of love to him, and are directed to his glory; the'smallest services of his saints to him, and the least acts of charity to his, are acceptable to him, when performed in the exercise of grace; and he will take notice of them, and openly declare it one day before angels and men, how well pleased he is with them.

4thly. What is meant by eating them: and this intends Christ's accejjtation of them, and delight in them, as also his enjoyment of them; tiie phrase of eating and drinking being, with the Jews, expressive of enjoyment: and it also farther declares, the church's acknowledgment of Christ being the owner of the garden; for who should ea^ of the fruits of it but he who has planted it, and takes care of it, and to whom all the fruit belongs? knowing it therefore to be so, she here invites him to his own; which invitation is not disregarded, hut observed by him, as appears from the following words.

This chapter begins with Christ's answer to the church's request, at the close of the preceding chapter; in which he informs her, that he was come into his garden, as she desired; and gives an account of what he had done there; and kindly invites her, and his dear friends, to feast with him there, ver. I. Then she relates her case and circumstances, which followed upon her sleepy frame, and ungrateful carriage to her beloved; which he resenting, he withdrew [from her, and this gave her sensible pain, ver. 2 — 6. Also what treatment she met with from the watchmen; her charge to the daughters of Jerusalem; and the questions they put to her about her beloved, ver. 7 — 9, which led her to give a large description of hira, by his several parts, head, hair, &c. ver. 10 — 15. And the chapter is concluded with, a general commendation of him and his loveliness, and a claim of interest in him, ver 16.

Verse 1. / am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse: I have gathered wy myrrh with my spice, 1 have eaten my honey-comb with my honey, 1 have drunk my wine with my milk -. eat, friends, drink, yea, drink abundantly, 0 beloved. This verse properly belongs unto, and is a part of the preceding chapter. The bible, when first written, was not divided into chapters, as now it is: this is a work purely human and not divine, therefore liable to correction. And I much wonder that the authors of this work should begin this chapter with this verse, which ouglit to end the former, as both the words and sense of them manifestly show; for this chapter ought to begin at ver. 2, where the church begins a new account of her state and case, and of some other remarkable occurrences which befel her, not hitherto spoken of. In this verse may be observed,

I. Christ's reply to the church's request, in the latter end of the former cliapter, where she desires and invites him to come into his garden.

II. An account of Christ's carriage and behaviour, or what he did when he came into his garden.

III. A kind invitation given by Christ to his friends to feast with him.

I. Here is a reply made by Christ to the church's request or invitation; " I am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse." The titles which he gives her, have been already taken notice of and explained, in chap. iv. 8, 9, and this reply of his unto her may be considered, either by way of denial to her, so some" interpret it; as though Christ did not answer the church's wishes and desires, but rather gives a reason why he does not; and wherefore she had no reason to expect his presence a long time; because, says he, I have been in my garden already, and there I have gathered ray myrrh and the rest of my spices; I have got in my harvest or vintage, and I have eaten my honey and honey-comb, and drunk my wine and milk; and therefore to what purpose should I now come into my garden? thou canst not expect me, until more myrrh and otlier spices grow: or else, as a correction of her mistake, as if he should say. Dost thou invite me to come into my garden, as if I was absent from it? thou art mistaken, I am always in it, and never out of it; and am now there, gathering my myrrh and spice, eating my honey and honey-comb, and drinking my wine and milk. From hence may be observed, that Christ may be iu his church, among his people, or with particular believers, and they not know it; so God was in the place where Jacob was, and he knew it not: and thus it was with Mary at the sepulchre; Christ was at her elbow, and she knew hira not; he speaks to her, and yet she is ignorant, and takes him for the gardener, until he calls her by her name, Mary, and then she knew him, and turus herself, " and saith unto him, Rabboni, that is to say, master." Though I rather think the words are to be taken as a direct answer of Christ's to the church; she desires and invites him to come into his garden, and accordingly he does come, and lets her know of it: in which we may take notice, I. Of thespeedioess of it; she no sooner asks, but it is granted; no sooner invites, but he comes •, and before she bad well done speaking, makes a reply; his answer was ready; he was as willing to come, as she w^as to desire him; which makes good what is said in Isa. Ixv. 24, " And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer," that is, will be ready to give an answer; " and while they are yet speaking, I will hear:" a famous instance of this kind we have in Daniel; who, ' while he was speaking in prayer," and confessing to God his own sins, and the sins of his people, the angel Gabriel was causeJ to fly swiftly to him; who informed him, that at the beginning of his supplications, as soon as the good mau was on his knees, and had opened his mouth in prayer to God, " the commandment came forth," orders were given, and he, as a messenger from heaven, dispatched to bring him an answer; but God does not always do so; " the vision is for an appointed time," and mast be waited for till it comes. 2. The nature of this answer is worth observing, being exactly according to her request; Clirist does not always do so: when the apostle Paul had " a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to buffet him," he besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from him: but it does not appear by the answer which was given him, that his request was granted immediately; the answer, " My grace is sufficient for thee," was a very glorious one, enough to support him under his present exercise, but gives us no intimation that it immediately freed him from it; it being some- times most for our good and for God's glory, not to be immediately and exactly answered: but here, as she was answered speedily, so exactly; she desires him to " come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruits;" he tells her, that he was come iato his garden, and did eat his honey-comb with his honey: which shows, 3. That her request was according to his will, in that she was answered so speedily and exactly; for " if we ask any thing according to his' will, he bearelh us;" and therefore onr great concern in pr;iyer should be, that we might be under the directions and influences of the Spirit of God, and that he would make intercession for us, according to the will of God, who perfectly knows it; and when we ask a favour or entreat a blessing, it should be always with snlimission to the divine will, in imitation of onr dear Lord, and so shall we be most likely to succeed. 4. It may be observed, that Christ not only answers her, but lets iicr know it; not only grants his presence, but gives her intimations of it; he himself acquaints her with it; for, as has been observed, Christ may be present with believei-s, and they not know it: so he was with tlie two disciples who were going to Emmaus; he walked with them, conversed with them, oi)ened the scriptures to them, and their hearts burned within them, while he did so; and yet they knew him not, till he was made known to them in breaking of bread: it is not only an instance of Christ's grace to be present with us, but also to assure us that be is so. I have shown in cha|). iv. 16, what is intended by Christ's coming into his garden; and therefore,

II. Shall now proceed to take notice of his carriage and behaviour there, or what he declares he did, or was doing, being there.

1st. He says, " I have gathered my myrrh with my spice." Myrrh is one of the chief spices, was a principal ingredient in the holy anointing oil, and was used in other ointments. "We read of the oil or ointment of myrrh, in Esth. ii. 12, with whicli Esther and the other maidens were purified, in ordtr to be presented to king Ahasuerus: this, and other sorts of ointments, as spikenard, were used in feasts, and were poured upon the heads of those who w'ere the guests, as appears from Slark xiv. 3, to which custom the Psalmist alludes. Psalm xxiii. 5. Christ being about to make a feast, not only for himself, but for others, gathers myrrh, with other spices, to make an ointment of, to entertain and refresh his guests with. By myrrh, with the rest of spices, may be meant either repentance and humiliation for sin, and mortification of it, according to some interpreters -^ and indeed repentance and humiliation for sin, when evangelical, being the work of the blessed Spirit, springing from right principles, and /coxa ®^v, according to God's mind; when it arises from an apprehension of sin, as committed against a God of love and grace; and when it springs from faith's viewing a crucified Christ; though, like myrrh, it is bitter to the soul, yet is odorous and well-pleasing to Christ; it is taken notice of by him, as Ephraim's bemoanings, repentance, and humiliation, were by God; he has a bottle to put such tears as these in, which drop from faith's eye: and so mortification of sin considered as the Spirit's grace, is regarded by him, according to Horn. viii. 13, " If ye, through the Spirit, do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live." Or else, according to others, *•' by myrrh with other spices, are intended the suffering saints and martyrs, who have undergone bitter afflictions and persecution for Christ and his gospel; whom he values, esteems, takes notice of, and gathers into his Father's house; where he clothes them whith white robes, put palms in their liauds, and everlasting hallelujahs in tlieir mouths; see Rev. vii. 9 — 14; or, rather, the sufferings of Christ himself, and the fruits thereof; which, tliough bitter to him, yet are of a sweet-smelling savour to Gud the Father, and to all the saints; the fruits of which, appearing in the everlasting salvation of his people, are very delightful to him, for he now sees of the " travail of his soul, and is satisiied;" he is now reaping with pleasure a glorious harvest of all his sweat, toil, and labour. Though I rather choose to understand hereby iu general the graces of the Spirit, which Christ delights in, and which go under the name of myrrh and other spices, iu chap. iv. 13, J4. Christ having got in his harvest, as the word signilies, and the Septuagiut renders it, provides a feast for himself and others; as was the custom of those times and nations, as it is now with us. And tlierefore,

2udly. He says, " I have eaten my honey-comb with my honey. Honey was the food, not only of infants, but of grown persons, as is manifest from Isa. vii. 22, but that he should eat the honeycomb with it, seems to have some difficulty iu it. The Septuagiut read it thus, I have eaten my bread with my honey, ^ that is, either bread dipped in honey, or honey being put upon it, or else bread made with it; which sense is favoured by those words in Ezek. xvi. 13, " Thou didst eat fine flower, and honey, and oil," that is, bread made thereof. R. Sol. Jarchi says, it is the honey which grows in canes; he means sugar, which, by Arrianus,' is called /xsXi KaXdjxivov, and that for the exceeding love he had for it, he is said to eat it out of the cane; but it rather seems to be a piece of an honey-comb full of honey, just taken out of tlie hive; such an one as the disciples gave Christ; and this was had in no small esteem among the Jews. The word for honey-comb, signifies a wood or forest, b and may design such honey as was found ia woods; though here, it should seem, in a gardeu, of which there was plenty in Judea, 1 Sam. xiv. 25, which of its own accord dropped from the comb, and ran down the tree from it, in which it was, and was reckoned the purest honey: and the other word lor honey, may signify common houey, orlioney made of the fruit of the palm-tree; which, the Jewish writers say, is the honey meant in Deut. viii. 8,'^ and so the words may be rendered, " I have eaten my wood-honey with my palm-honey;" for it cannot be thought that the honey and the comb were both eaten together. And by the honey and honeycomb, may be meant the doctrines of the gospel, or the words of Christ's mouth, which are said to be sweeter than the honey or the houey-comb; so that Christ delights, not only in the graces of the Spirit, but also in the doctrines of the gospel, and the preaching of them,

3rJly. He says, " I have drunk my wine with my milk." Having eaten, he drinks, to show that he had a complete feast, and nothing was wanting to give him satisfaction; not only wine, but milk was used for drink, by many nations, and no doubt by the Hebrews; we find that Jael gave Sisera milk to drink when he was thirsty, as being preferable to water; but that wine and milk should be drunk together, is not so usual; though it may be observed, that a mixture of wine and milk was used by the ancients,' and is by us, which, Clemens of Alexandria says,'' is a very profitable and healthful mixture. Some pf the Jewish writers think, that by wine, is meant red vvine, and by milk, white wine; and so the Targura expounds the words of God's acceptation of the drink-offering of red and white wine, which the priests poured upon the altar: R. Aben Ezra gives it as the sense of some of their Rabbins, though he does not approve of it; that by milk, is meant the white which ascends upon the wine; T suppose he means the froth or head that is made by pouring it out. But to leave these empty conjectures, this seems in general to intend the plenty of provisions, and satisfaction therein, which Christ found in his church; by which may be meant the doctrines of the gospel. Gospel grace is represented hereby, in Isa. Iv. 1, " By wine and milk without money and without price:" wine revives and cheers the spirits, makes a man to forget his poverty, and to remember his misery no more: so do the doctrines of the gospel, when they come with power to a poor sinner, sensible of his poverty, and misery; they make him to forget it, and fill him with an unspeakable joy: milk nourishes and strengthens; and so do the doctrines of the gospel; therefore says the apostle, " I have fed you with milk," meaning the wholesome and nourishing words of faith. Now from all this I would observe, 1. That here is a

■• See my Exposition in loc. ' Et nivei lactis variety: as at a feast, there is a variety of dishes, different sorts, both for eating and drinking; so here are myrrh and spice, honey, and the honeycomb, wine, and milk. 2. That here is nothing but what is sweet, savoury, and wholesome; myrrh and spice are of a delightful odour; honey is sweet to the taste, and wine and milk are wholesome and nourishing. 3. That all these are Christ's own; it is his own he feasts and makes himself welcome with; he does not say, " I have gathered thy myrrh with thy spice," which grows in thy garden; " I have eaten thy honey-comb with thy honey; I have drunk thy wine with thy milk;" but it is my myrrh and my spice, my houey and my honey comb, my wine and my milk; Christ would leave but a poor entertainment, if he had no other than what we can provide for him of our own. 4. Christ appears exceedingly delighted and well-pleased vvith all this; therefore he plucks and gathers, eats and drinks: the smallest degree of grace, and the weakest performances of his people, he takes notice of, and regards; he eats his honey-comb, as well as his honey, and drinks his milk, as well as his wine; for a " bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench."

III. In these words is also an invitation of Christ to his friends to eat and drink; he is not willing to eat his morsel alone; as he feeds, feasts, and delights himself in the graces of his own Spirit in his people, so he will have them feed and feast upon his person and grace; into whatsoever heart Christ comes, he will uot only sup with them, but will make them also sup with him. And here are to be considered, 1st. The persons whom he invites. 2ndly. What it is he invites them to.

1st. Who the persons are whom Christ invites; and they are here called friends and beloved; by whom are meant, not the augels, which is the mind of some;' though it is true, they are Christ's friends, and rejoice at the conversion of elect sinners, and in the prosperity of his church and people; yet I think they are not intended here: nor the priests, whose right it was to eat the remainder of the sacrifices, as many Jewish writers'" expound the words: but rather believers in Christ, who of enemies are made fri'nds; being first reconciled to God by the death of Christ, and then to himself by his Spirit and grace; whom he regai ds and treats as such, by granting them his presence, paying them visits, and disclosing the secrets of his heart unto them; and so he said to his disciples, John XV. 14, 15, " Henceforth I call you not servants, for the servant kuoweth not what his Lord doeth; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard of my Father, I have made known unto you:" now these are enabled, through divine grace, to show themselves friendly to Christ again, by valuing his presence, delighting in his company, regarding his ordinances, and observing his commands; for though these things do not make friends, yet they show them to be so; as Christ says, " Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you." These are also the beloved of his soul; he has loved them with an everlasting love, and has given the fullest proofs and clearestdemonstrationsof it that possibly can be; which being manifested to their souls, begets love to him again; on the account of which he calls them friends and beloved. But,

2ndly. It will be proper to consider what he invites his friends and beloved to; to eat and drink, yea, to drink abundantly: but what is it tliey are to eat and drink of, or to feast upon? why, Christ himself, who is the bread of life, and the hidden manna, whose flesh is meat indeed, and whose blood is drink indeed; which if a man eats, and feeds upon by faith, he shall never hunger, nor die the second death, but live for ever: moreover, his love is what they are to drink of, and that largely; it being preferable to wine, may be drunk of, without danger, plentifully: they may drink, yea, be inebriated with loves," as the words may be rendered; for here is enough of it, and no fear of receiving any danger by it; and all this together makes up that feast of fat things, of wines on the lees well refined, which the Lord's supper is a representation of. And this shows, 1. The plenteousness of the provisions which Christ makes in his house for his people: it is not an empty house that Christ keeps, a niggardly feast that he makes; but here is food, and that in plenty, and drink enough and to spare. 2. That a believer is heartily welcome to the entertainment which Christ makes: it is true, we are unworthy creatures of ourselves; but seeing Christ has made such entertainments for us, and has so kindly invited us, let us use freedom and eat; and the more heartily we feed on these royal dainties, the more welcome we are; and to assure believers that they are so, he, in his invitation to them, gives them the titles of friends and beloved: nay, the very manner of the invitation, not only declares the plenteousness of the feast, but also the largeness and sincerity of his heart in it. 3. It also lets US know, that Christ neither invites nor allows any to feed and feast with him, but those who are his friends, whom he accounts and makes so; this is a privilege peculiar to them, which indeed none can enjoy but they. And as for the external ordinance of the Lord's supper, that feast of love, none have a right to eat of it, but those who are Christ's friends; and to none but those is it profitable and edifying; for he does not manifest himself, nor discover his love to any other: these are his darlings ami favourites; with these he grants his presence at his table, and satisfies their souls with the goodness of his house.

Verse 2. 1 sleep, but my heart waheth; it is i/ie voice of r.iy beloved that knocketh, saying, Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undejiled: for my head is filled with dew, and my locks with the drops of the night. These are the words of the church, who here begins to give an account of her present state and condition; how that after this spiritual banquet, which she had partaken of with Christ, she fell asleep, as the disciples did in the garden, after they had been with Christ, at his table: and also, what methods he made use of to awake her; how basely and ungratefully she treated him; which he resented, and showed by a departure from her; which then she was sensible of, was troubled at, and made enquiry after him, first of the watchmen, who abused her, and then of the daughters of Jerusalem, who questioned her about him; which gave her occasion to give that large and excellent account of him, which closes this chapter: and it may be observed, that as Christ speaks most in the preceding chapter, so she does in this. In these words are these two things,

I. The church's account of her present state and condition.

II. Christ's carriage and behaviour to her in this condition.

I. The account she gives of her present state and condition;

" I sleep, but my heart waketh:" like persons half awake and half asleep, whom Cicero» calls semisomni; the phrase is sometimes used to describe a sluggish, slothful man.? This case which the church was now in, is different from that recorded in chap, iii., there she was upon her bed indeed, hut not asleep: there she was seeking after her beloved; but here he is seeking to her, and entreating her in the most kind and affectionate manner to arise, and let him in; there she of her own accord arose and sought him in the streets and broad ways; but here she continues in this sleepy and lazy condition, notwithstanding the pressing instances and powerful arguments which he made use of, until he exerted his mighty grace, which caused her to arise and open to him; but then he was gone:' there she enquires of the watchmen, who though we do not read of any answer they gave her, yet they did not abuse her; but here they smite her, wound her, and take away her veil from her; there, a little after she had passed from them she found him; but here she appears to be even sick of love before she found him. In this account of hers, two things are asserted by her, Pirst, That she was asleep. Yet, Secondly, Her heart was awake.